The jurors were being questioned 16 at a time from a pool of 150 people. The jurors were asked questions, such as "Do you have strong feelings toward Ray Nagin?" and "Are you related to anyone in the trial?"

During the selection process, some witnesses, who were subpoenaed were read aloud. Those witnesses include former CAO, Brenda Hatfield, former city attorney Penya Moses-Fields, former city attorney and current head of the Public Integrity Bureau Linda Westbrook, former department heads Kenya Smith and Robert Mendoza.

U.S. District Court Judge Ginger Berrigan on Thursday issued new rules related to media and public access during some stages of the trial, sealing at least some of the proceedings behind closed doors and prohibiting electronic coverage from inside the courtroom.

The federal probe began under the administration of former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. Current U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite now supervises prosecutions in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The indictment in which Nagin was charged claims he accepted bribes from a local businessman -- Frank Fradella -- including cash and merchandise totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. The indictment also alleges that Nagin accepted approximately $72,000 in bribes from Rodney Williams and his company, Three Fold Consultants, LLC.

The indictment charged Nagin with accepting bribes and payoffs from consultants and contractors, money laundering conspiracy and filing false tax returns from 2005 to 2008.

Nagin’s attorney filed several motions in an attempt to delay the trial or dismiss the charges, citing prosecutorial misconduct in the U.S. attorney's office last year regarding online comment posts about cases the office was working on.

The misconduct his attorney cited led to the resignation of Letten and several members of his office, including First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Mann and Senior Litigation Counsel Sal Perricone.

Perricone admitted to posting negative comments under an alias about open cases that were under investigation.

In September 2013, Polite, the youngest federal prosecutor appointed by President Barack Obama, took over Letten’s office.

Nagin hasn't publicly spoken about the charges -- even at his arraignment in February 2013 he remained silent.

Nagin was elected mayor of New Orleans in the spring of 2002 and again in 2006, just months after Hurricane Katrina.

If he is convicted on all charges, Nagin would face up to 45 years in prison and fines of up to $1,100,000.